A Sense of Belonging (Is Only Human)
by Mesita
Summary: Scott and Isaac spend the moon together and learn that there's more to lycanthropy than howling at the moon.


It was a strange feeling, running through the woods as a pair, but Isaac had suggested it. Scott got the feeling Isaac wasn't behind the idea at all, and that maybe Stiles had something to do with it, but Scott wasn't going to dwell too much on that.

What mattered was that Isaac was not at all what he expected.

Well, Scott had no idea what he was even expecting in the first place. Scowls? Fighting? Awkward glances from across a crowded room? Whatever hostile version of Isaac existed in the past had no doubt dissipated and been replaced with a wolf so full of heart and loyalty that even Scott felt a little humbled. Things might have been a mess between Scott and Derek, but Scott couldn't find it in him to hate Isaac for actually enjoying his lycanthropy.

Maybe that was why he'd really agreed to run with Isaac during the full moon. All this time, he'd hated being a werewolf—but maybe it was time someone taught him how to appreciate his powers, especially since it seemed like he'd be keeping them for a while.

For most of the night they ran in relative silence. Through furtive glances and high pitched whines, they communicated enough to surround an unsuspecting raccoon only to set it free afterward. Apparently neither werewolf felt the desire to kill and gut anyone, much less a woodland creature. The practice had been good, though. Maybe one day they would have to corner someone and this would be the perfect way to do it. Granted that person had the mentality of a garbage thief.

Scott watched the coon scamper off into the underbrush and grinned—actually grinned back at it. It was hard as hell to smile with elongated fangs. He wanted to suppress the wolf and become Scott McCall once again, but with the full moon out, it was impossible. The urge to hunt and to roam was too great. Sparing the raccoon's life was probably the last bit of humanity Scott had left.

That was, until a howl of glee sounded behind him and Scott whirled around to see Isaac's amber eyes gleaming in the darkness. "You see that? We let him go."

Scott glanced from Isaac to the rustling bushes left over from the raccoon's flight and shrugged. "Yeah? So?" Surely this wasn't a big feat?

Isaac was beaming, though. If Scott thought it was hard to grin with his muzzle out, then Isaac must have been really suffering. In fact, Scott wasn't even sure if Isaac was smiling or grimacing. Based on his tone of voice, he had to be happy, but his face looked pained, especially when it was distorted into its werewolf mode.

"So that's a good thing. Before, all I ever wanted to do was rip something to shreds. I don't have to do that, anymore." Isaac explained.

Maybe it wasn't as big a deal for Scott as it was for Isaac. Scott never wanted to hurt anyone. Ever. Stiles may have been on board to kill Derek at one point, and then Jackson, but that was something Scott could never see himself doing. It was hard enough trying to kill Peter and look where that got him.

"But we hunted him," Scott pointed out. He didn't point the out the obvious just for his sake. He liked to think he put out friendly reminders to the universe. "We probably scared him senseless."

"Yes, but we didn't kill him and that's saying something."

The lisping from the teeth began to disappear and Scott realized the conversational distraction was keeping him more human and less wolf. This was a good thing, for him at least. Isaac noticed as well and stared at his hands as if they'd wronged him.

"I wasn't even thinking about my anchor," Isaac said more to his hands than to Scott. When he looked up again, he face was puzzled. The full moon normally had a strong effect on him and he hadn't been through as many as Scott.

Scott shrugged. "You're with friends. Or, friend, I guess. Maybe it's different," Scott began but then paused a moment, remembering his past follies. "Although there was the one full moon where I tried to kill Stiles so maybe not…"

Isaac stared upward at the sky. It was difficult to see the moon through the trees, but Scott could point the moon out with his eyes shut tight. The power he felt emanating from it was enormous. He knew Isaac exactly where Isaac's gaze fell as he murmured, "We're friends?"

Now Scott was genuinely confused and he knew his face showed it. "Well, yeah. I mean, after everything we've been through, how can we not be friends?"

Isaac stared in the general direction of the moon for a long time. So long, in fact, that Scott began to feel uncomfortable. Was Isaac okay? Did he want to be alone? Was Scott supposed to say something here because he was lost. He was starting to think that maybe wolfing out and chasing something larger than a raccoon would make him feel better. Maybe a doe. A deer. A female deer. He grinned to himself, but then Isaac's voice broke him from his reverie.

"Thank you."

Scott's smile faded. "You're welcome, I guess. For what?"

"I've never really belonged anywhere, before. I guess it's hard to be a bloodthirsty monster filled with rage when your soul feels so at peace."

Scott couldn't help but laugh, but when Isaac looked at him, he didn't look offended at all. "If all it took to hold back the wolf was to be a smiling ball of happy sunshine, then why would I wolf out around Allison? She made me happy."

Isaac visibly flinched at the mention of Allison's name but didn't say anything regarding the move. It looked more like an irritated tick than anything. Scott was used to seeing it. Most people did that when he talked about her too much. He couldn't help it. She was amazing. She was STILL amazing. Everyone else seemed to like her, but only when Scott wasn't talking about her. He'd just have to fix that.

"But she also kept you human, right?" Isaac inquired.

"Ah…." Scott snapped his fingers and pointed a wavy finger in Isaac's general direction. "You have a point. What, so now we're so happy we stay human during a full moon?"

"I like to think of it as we've accepted ourselves and our wolf and can therefore retain our humanity at the full moon. Like Derek," Isaac corrected him. It made so much more sense when he said it. Then again, it was Isaac—the one person who actually liked being in Derek's pack.

"That's just what I said," Scott flitted his hand through the air. "Same thing."

They exchanged a grin and it was Isaac who moved first. Even though he didn't have any of the features that brought out the werewolf, he still moved with a calculated speed. In seconds, he was almost out of sight and Scott had to do a double take and sprint off to catch up with him.

After a few quick pants, Scott shifted again to gain the upper hand. Going wolf during a full moon was easier than blinking. Scott hardly had to concentrate. It was like flipping a switch inside of him and the rest was all reflex. Isaac began to shift at some point, too, and soon the two of them were running on all fours over the forest floor.

Isaac's limbs were longer, so his strides gave him more distance, but what Scott lacked in size, he made up with speed. He could also maneuver around the fallen logs and saplings that littered the preserve grounds a lot easier than Isaac could. Soon, he was catching up and with a great leap he pounced on Isaac from behind, tackling him into a pile of dead leaves.

When Isaac turned around on the ground to face Scott, he was laughing. Not scowling or yelling or even looking vaguely depressed. Genuine laughter erupted from his lips. Scott tried to remember ever hearing Isaac laugh but his memory bank came up short. The laughter was contagious and soon Scott was doubling over, holding onto his sides as Isaac tossed a handful of leaves at him.

What a sight they were: two werewolves with strength that could rival ten men, supersonic hearing, an extremely keen sense of smell and reflexes that could put Olympic Champion Ping Pong athletes to shame… and they were rolling around having a leaf fight.

Clearly, the bestiary, with all its carefully researched supernatural lore, had forgotten that even werewolves could be human.


End file.
